The EU Should Merge Energy and Environmental Policy to Achieve Energy Independence from Russia

Sewalk, Stephen, Denver Journal of International Law and Policy

I. INTRODUCTION

Recently, Russia has seen considerable time in the international policy spotlight, sending shock waves throughout the international community with its military support during the para-military led annexation of Ukraine's Crimea peninsula in March. (1) The European Union's ("EU") energy dependence on Russia has hindered its ability to effectively execute sanctions against Russia for its bold and aggressive behavior. (2) These recent events underline the serious vulnerabilities of the EU's energy policy and demonstrate how energy dependence has translated itself into both economic and political dependence. (3) The EU should merge its energy and environmental policy together by abandoning its ineffective European Union--Emissions Trading System (EU-ETS) and adopt a Carbon Tax with Reinvestment (CTR), reclaiming its autonomy and ensuring the stability of its multinational economy, while simultaneously ensuring its ability to meet and exceed its Kyoto commitments. (4)

In this article, I begin by discussing the history of Russian and European foreign relations, focusing on the energy policy dynamics and their effect on these relations. I then examine how Russia's energy policy is a key element to its foreign relations strategy. Then, the implications of the EU's dependence on Russian natural gas are discussed, examining the seemingly conflicting interests between Europe's climate and energy security goals. Finally, I demonstrate how a coordinated energy and environmental policy, using a carbon tax with reinvestment, can significantly reduce built environment emissions while reducing the EU's dependence on Russia; allowing the EU to address security, economic, and environmental concerns in a synergetic manner.

A. EU Energy History and Policy

The European Coal and Steel community was created under the Treaty of Paris. (5) Since the Treaty of Paris, Europe has held that energy policy integration is fundamental to its security and cohesiveness. (6) In 1973, the community would not only enlarge with three countries joining, but would also be faced with an energy crisis due to the Arab-Israeli war. (7) The EU was heavily dependent on foreign oil sources, especially from the Middle East, and still remains heavily dependent, importing over 90% of its oil and 66% of its natural gas. (8) Against this backdrop of European cooperation in energy security, I would like to examine Europe's current challenges with Russia and present my policy solution.

First, previous European energy securities must be considered. Energy security as a foreign policy issue has long involved issues much more profound than power generation and raw materials exchange. (9) As colonial powers, Europe, and then the U.S. companies, controlled and owned energy producing areas and facilities. These firms were named "The Seven Sisters." (10) This "first" period of energy producer consumer relations has since been replaced with the formation of OPEC in the 1960 s, and the reclaiming of energy assets by energy producing nations. (11) This shifting dynamic has laid the foundation for energy policy being an issue of international diplomacy, as energy assets and other natural resources become symbolic of national power and autonomy. (12)

Europe (and the rest of the world) is now in a third period (identified by economic historians that is neither colonial-dominated by resource consumers, nor nationalistic-dominated by resource producers), an era that began

with the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the spread of liberal
values such as democracy and market economy and the empowerment of
liberal international institutions. The liberalization of the
energy sector, particularly in the EU, entails that energy has
increasingly become subject to the logic of free markets. These
last years, however, producing countries have increasingly resorted
to political consideration in the management of energy. …

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